Environmental Expert On Public Health Dangers Of Triclosan

Rolf Halden, an environmental engineering expert from ASU’s Biodesign Institute, participated on a Congressional briefing panel in Washington, D.C., Feb. 17, about the public health dangers of triclosan – a common antimicrobial ingredient that has raised health and environmental concerns. Triclosan is a common additive found in antibacterial soaps and personal care products. Antimicrobials made their first appearance in commercial hand soaps in the 1980s, and by 2001, 76 percent of liquid hand soaps contained the chemical. But the active ingredients of these soaps now have come under scrutiny by the EPA and FDA due to both environmental and human health concerns.

Halden led a research team that has found triclosan, and another antimicrobial additive called triclocarban, to persist during wastewater treatment and cause environmental contamination nationwide. Triclosan and triclocarban pose risks to ecological and human health due to their potential to disrupt proper endocrine function and to cause cross-resistance to life-saving antibiotics used in human medicine.